The Little Things
by Angel-son of Caesar
Summary: James loves Lily. Lily hates James. James asks Lily out. Lily rejects James. James tries again. We all know how it works. A collection of one-shots featuring James showing just how much he cares about Lily.
1. Beginnings

**The Little Things**

Basic Overview: James loves Lily. Lily hates James. James asks Lily out. Lily rejects James. James tries again. We all know how it works. But in between his many fruitless attempts, James is always there for Lily. A collection of one-shots featuring James showing just how much he cares. Pity there's no one around to notice.

Alright, this is my first story, please read and review, I want to know how I'm doing, uhh...yeah I think that's it, enjoy!

**Disclaimer: hyugrvguyugyrvg. I own nothing, except perhaps the keyboard I just face-planted into a couple times.**

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Beginnings

First Year

The three Potters approached the barrier between platforms nine and ten. James was worried. He had recently run at the wrong place and crashed into a solid wall. What a collision! _Anyway_, he had his parents go first this time. Mr. and Mrs. Potter casually strolled through the barrier. Just as James was about to follow, he heard someone say "Excuse me?"

James, having just started his run when he was hailed, had pushed his cart forward, then tried to stop it because of the voice behind him. His trolley was rather heavy, and James was rather small, and also eleven years old. Thus, he had some difficulty in stopping his cart from rolling towards and through the barrier without him. This resulted in a very strange looking maneuver, which also hurt his legs a bit and strained his arms. This ticked him off.

James whipped around, more than just slightly angry, looking for the stranger who had just asked him to excuse her.

He saw her.

He excused her. Immediately.

She introduced herself as Lily Evans. He introduced himself as Pames Jotter. He then realized his mistake and corrected himself. She giggled.

James then made his first of many extremely important decisions.

James decided he liked Lily. He liked her a lot.

Then she asked if he knew how to get to Platform Nine and Three Quarters ("I read the ticket and looked through the letter millions of times, but I couldn't find anything about where the platform was and--") and he told her that all you had to do was walk through the barrier.

She asked if he was sure.

He asked if she was kidding.

She answered no.

He then replied yes.

She asked if he would go first, so she could make sure that it worked. James replied, "Sure." He ran at the barrier. He didn't crash.

James looked around, awed, and started to walk away, then remembered the red-head (Lily), and waited at the entrance.

She followed him, eyes shut tight, pushing her trolley at full speed.

She hit him **(just kidding)**.

She almost hit him. Instead she shot right past him. He called her name for fear that she might hit something or someone else.

Upon hearing her name, Lily opened her eyes.

Lily looked around, awed, and started to walk away, then remembered her manners and thanked James.

He replied, "You're very welcome."

They walked around for a bit together, until Lily saw her friend Severus (Snape), and ran towards him, not forgetting to thank James this time. James gave her a small smile as an acknowledgement, then walked away, just a little bit upset and surprised that she would leave him so quickly after he helped her. James then made another very important decision.

James decided that he did not like Severus. Not one bit.

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James sat down in a compartment, alone.

Someone asked if they could sit across from him.

James replied in the affirmative.

The boy sat down.

The looked at one another for a while, sizing each other up.

The boy said, not rudely, "I'm Sirius Black (_whoa, didn't see _that_ one coming!_), who are you?"

James Potter replied, "James Potter."

They had their first real conversation.

James made his third important decision of the day.

He decided that he liked Sirius. Very much.

-----

The compartment door opened.

An argument about Gryffindor and Slytherin took place between James and Severus.

Lily and Severus left.

James was a little bit ticked.

-----

The Hogwarts Express arrived at Hogwarts.

James got off the train.

Sirius got off the train with James.

Lily got off the train.

Severus got off the train with Lily.

The four of them gathered with the other first years outside the Great Hall.

Each of the four of them, in turn (Sirius first, then Lily, then James, and finally Severus), put on a hat. A Sorting Hat.

The Hat then yelled out either Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin, and the wearer took off the hat and went to the table of the House he/she had just been Sorted into.

Sirius, expecting to go to Slytherin like the other Blacks, went to Gryffindor ('Take that, mother!' he thought triumphantly).

Lily probably wanted to go to Slytherin. But she was Muggle-born. Putting her in Slytherin would have been terrible (although a really funny oxymoron). Lily went to Gryffindor.

James would have left if he had to go to Slytherin. So the Hat put him in Gryffindor.

Severus wanted to go to Slytherin. But he had to go to Gryffindor as well (**just kidding**). Severus went to Slytherin.

There was a feast.

There were announcements.

Then everyone went to bed.

James fell asleep thinking about Lily.

Severus fell asleep thinking about Lily.

Lily fell asleep thinking about Lily.

Sirius fell asleep thinking (**yes, he thinks**) about Gryffindor House.

For James and Lily, that day was the beginning of an extremely strange one-sided love relationship.

For Sirius, that day was the beginning of a life-long friendship with James.

For Severus, well, that day was many things. He had always had a complicated life, and always would, till the moment he died.

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So how did you like that? If you would like me to write more of these, please review, if you wouldn't, I probably will anyway, just ignore it.

Please review and PLEASE cut a little slack, this is my first story.


	2. First Classes

**The Little Things**

Hey guys, what's up? Thanks for the reviews (they made my otherwise depressing day happy), pinkpoodle7, Darigirl06, Sam-EvansBlue, and Talking-Rock! Here's the next chapter!

**Disclaimer: lskfjghurdksjfgb. I own nothing, except perhaps the keyboard I just face-planted into a couple times.**

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First Classes

First Year

The next day, classes began.

Lily was top of the class in Charms, then did well in Herbology and Potions (where she quickly impressed Slughorn), actually stayed awake and took notes in History of Magic, performed excellently in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and fared so well overall (especially for a Muggle-born) that both the students and the teachers were sure she'd do well in Astronomy later that week and Transfiguration later that day.

Severus did well in Potions.

James and Sirius did well goofing off, thus having all the points Slughorn had awarded Lily (plus twenty more) taken away within two and a half hours.

Then the first years arrived at the Transfiguration classroom.

They listened to a lecture.

James got in trouble.

They took notes.

Sirius got in trouble.

The class was given directions for what to do as well as a demonstration.

James _and_ Sirius got in trouble.

Then each of the first years attempted to turn their match into a needle.

After half an hour, about a third of the class, including Sirius and Severus, had turned their matches silver.

A boy named Peter Pettigrew somehow lit his match.

James had perfected the art of turning a match into a needle and back again, so he spent the rest of the period showing off, messing around with the needle, then the match, then the needle again, making witty remarks, commenting negatively on others' work, and stealing glances at Lily.

She was upset.

Her face was red with embarrassment and concentration, and her appearance was distraught. So far, this was the one subject she had not done extremely well in. To add insult to injury, James Potter (whom she had disliked since he and Sirius had insulted Severus on the train) had not only accomplished the task at hand, he had mastered it in half an hour, something she was not able to do in any of the earlier classes. Lily wondered if he had noticed her obvious frustration.

He had.

Of course, he didn't let anyone know that he had, and he definitely didn't let anyone know that he did feel a bit sorry for the red-head, although she had beat him in every class other than that one, and he would have liked to gloat.

But he didn't.

Because James, no matter how much he would have liked to brag, did feel sorry for Lily.

James didn't like that feeling.

But there wasn't really anything James could do, seeing as Lily wouldn't even talk to him, so he amused himself for the rest of the period by poking Sirius with his needle.

But, still, there was that annoying feeling nagging at him. And what made it infinitely more annoying is that he couldn't make that feeling go away, and that he didn't even know _why_ he felt so sorry for this girl. After all, he barely even knew her, and she already disliked him, so why would he feel sorry?

Near the end of the period, the professor was going around, checking how people did with their task for the day. James' awful feeling came back, stronger than ever.

Before she got to James and Sirius, James Transfigured Sirius' match for him ("Why didn't you do that earlier?" "You want me to change it back?" "...No. Thank you, James.").

The professor awarded both James and Sirius full points, which they were very happy about.

As soon as the professor left, James told Sirius to throw his new needle at Severus, and Sirius readily agreed.

Sirius took aim and threw the needle.

A yell of pain and fury told the boys that, to their great delight, the needle had hit its mark.

Unfortunately, Sirius had thrown as the professor was grading Severus, so she saw the needle hit him.

The professor looked around for whoever had thrown the needle, thinking that whoever didn't have their own needle must have thrown it.

However, James was ready for this, and had picked up Peter Pettigrew's burnt-out match lying discarded on the floor, Transfigured it, and handed it to Sirius.

The professor, going off on a hunch, told Sirius off and docked points anyway.

Meanwhile, Lily had been worrying herself sick about her match, as it was still a match.

'At least it didn't burn up, like Peter's,' she thought. 'I might not get that bad of a grade. It even looks a little silver near the ends, and a bit pointy. It sort of resembles a needle. Plus, it's just the first day, I'll get better at this. I can recuperate!'

But no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't cheer herself up. She knew she would fail the first day of Transfiguration.

Lily looked around nervously for the professor, to see how much longer she had till she was graded. She was shocked and saddened to see the professor standing mere feet away from her, grading Severus.

She glanced back down at her match.

To her great surprise (and much greater delight), her match was gone.

In its place was a shiny, silver needle.

Lily was awarded full points.

James put away his wand, happy that he'd gotten rid of that awful feeling for Lily he had felt for the whole period.

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So, what did you all think?

Please remember to review, I apologize for the lateness of the hour, I meant to update earlier this afternoon, sorry.

Also, there's a couple things I wanted to say.

First, do NOT plan on regular updates. Sorry, I don't know about my schedule right now.

Second, Severus Snape is probably not going to be in the story all that much, he is a very minor character, this is more about James and Lily and a bit of the Marauders. I have mixed feelings for Snape, thinking of him as an adult, he is super-cool and really hardcore, one of my favorite characters. But as a teen, he appears as a threat to my favorite pairing, with his obsessive love for Lily, so I just prefer not to write too much about him.

Third, I would like to know if you guys want dialogue. I thought I'd try without dialogue to begin with, because it's really fun this way, and much easier to get to the point, but if you want more dialogue, tell me and I'll see what I can do.

Thanks for reading my story, and please review!


	3. Hogsmeade

**The Little Things**

Look, I felt bad about not updating till like 9 tonight (9 where I am, anyway) when I intended to update around 5 or 6, so I decided to give you another chapter. Sorry if it's too short and sorry about the late update.

Enjoy this chapter, please don't forget to review!

**Disclaimer: xkuyrtbefin. I own nothing, except perhaps the keyboard I just face-planted into a couple times.**

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Hogsmeade

Third Year

Quite a bit had happened in the time between the first classes of first year and the first Hogsmeade weekend of third year.

James and Sirius had two other boys in their year, Peter Pettigrew and a boy named Remus Lupin. The four of them were a sort of gang, or clan, or social group, clique, family, you get the point. They liked to play pranks, and they were very well known as the Marauders. James and Sirius were the ringleaders, mainly the ones pulling the pranks, Peter was an adoring fan and good, loyal (**lol**) friend, and Remus was the guy they copied off of for homework and in-class notes. He was a close friend of theirs', although he was a book worm and liked to follow the rules.

But enough about the Marauders. Let's focus on individuals, now.

James had changed.

Sirius had changed.

Lily had changed.

James and Sirius had become even more confident, and were great pranksters and very good comedians.

Lily disliked James more now, forgetting his great help on the first day at King's Cross and only referring to him by last name. She had also matured considerably more than the boys had.

James hadn't matured much, but over the course of the second year, he had developed quite a strong crush for Lily. Only the Marauders knew about this, though.

Anyway, the four boys were going to Hogsmeade together that weekend.

Lily was going with her friends Alice and Mary.

First, the Marauders went to Honeydukes, the candy shop. The spent a little time there buying various sweets. Remus bought a lot of chocolate.

Then they went to Zonko's Joke Shop. They spent most of the day there. Remus disapproved of all the pranking material James and Sirius bought, but did enjoy himself there.

Finally, the boys headed over to the Three Broomsticks for some butterbeer.

Lily, Alice, and Mary, meanwhile, had started their visit at Honeydukes, like the Marauders, spending a little more time and a little more money there than the boys did.

Then they headed over to the clothing store.

After that, Mary wanted to visit Zonko's, so the other two girls came with her. They didn't stay too long in that particular shop.

The girls thought it was rather cold, and decided to head over to the Three Broomsticks for some drinks.

When they got inside, the place was packed and noisy. The three third years attempted to make their way through the crowd.

James saw Lily.

Lily did not see James.

However, Sirius saw James see Lily.

Sirius began mercilessly teasing James about Lily, commenting on how the redness of his face was like the redness of her hair.

James hit Sirius.

Peter and Remus looked on in amusement.

Meanwhile, Lily and co. were still trying to make their way through the crowd. As she passed near James' table, she tripped over someone, shrieking as she fell forward.

Right into James' outstretched arms.

Lily looked up into James' face.

James grinned at her.

Lily got up, muttered a quick "Thanks," and left surprisingly quickly (it was surprising because of the hugeness of the crowd).

Sirius continued mercilessly teasing James about Lily.

Peter and Remus occasionally joined in.

James got fed up and left, saying he had "an important package to pick up."

The other Marauders thought it was just an excuse, and laughed at him behind his back.

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Well, that's it. Sorry about the short chapter.

Anyway, please review, don't be shy!

By the way, I just completely skipped second year, I didn't think it had anything important in it, except maybe Quidditch, but that won't be important till the fourth or fifth year anyway, so, yeah. Sorry if anyone was looking forward to that.

Once again, please review, thanks for reading!


	4. Flowers

**The Little Things**

Hey guys!

Listen, I felt bad about updating late, so I gave another chapter, but it was so short I felt like you deserved another extremely short chapter. It's basically Hogsmeade continued.

Enjoy, and please don't forget to review!

**Disclaimer: gsegcxtcbsfzcd. I own nothing, except perhaps the keyboard I just face-planted into a couple times.**

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Flowers

Third Year

The Monday after the first Hogsmeade visit, James walked into the Great Hall for breakfast.

This would not be unusual, except he was later than normal.

He was also not with Sirius, Remus, or Peter (they were already eating).

And, finally, he was carrying something.

The Marauders saw him.

The Marauders gaped like a bunch of sillies.

The Marauders asked him,

"Where did you get the lilies?"

He replied, "From Hogsmeade."

"When?"

"When I left the Three Broomsticks for that 'package' I was talking about."

"You were _serious?_"

"That's me!"

"Shut up, Sirius. And, yes, I was."

They gaped some more.

James walked over to Lily.

He gave the lilies to Lily.

She looked at them.

He looked at her.

She looked at him.

She said "...er...."

"Potter, were these store-bought?"

"Yes, why?"

"That shows no affection! It's an insult, anyone could buy flowers from a store!"

"But they're lilies! For Lily! Get it?"

"Potter, I don't want them. Just leave."

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The next day, James brought in hand-picked lilies.

He presented them to Lily.

She called him a monster, for hurting the poor, innocent plants.

-----

On Wednesday, James drew and cut flowers out of paper.

He presented them to Lily.

She thought it was a waste of paper.

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On Thursday, James gave Lily lily-shaped pancakes.

Lily asked if he made them himself.

He said no, and gave credit to the house-elves.

Lily didn't support slavery. She was angry that he used house-elves for that.

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On Friday, James walked into the Great Hall empty handed.

He went over to Lily.

James asked Lily and the people surrounding her for food they were not going to eat.

He gathered the trash, and right before everyone's eyes, Transfigured them into lilies.

Lily had no complaints.

But she turned him down anyway.

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So how'd you like that one?

I know it was short, but I liked the idea and I felt like two short chapters ought to make up for the lateness of Chapter 2, so, yeah.

Please remember to review, thanks for reading, and until next time!


	5. Quidditch

**The Little Things**

Hey guys! Thanks for all the reviews, La Vik., Talking-Rock, and Sam-EvansBlue, they made my day.

Talking-Rock, if you would like to analyze my story, go for it, I have no complaint for you doing that in reviews.

Sam, your reviews have inspired me to update again.

This chapter is about Quidditch, Year Four. If this were not my fanfic, I would be very excited for this chapter, as I love reading about Quidditch.

Well, here's chapter 5, enjoy, and don't forget to review!

**Disclaimer: ykrxhfjbxkuyrf. I own nothing, except perhaps the keyboard I just face-planted into a couple times.**

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Quidditch

Fourth Year

James and Sirius were flying.

More specifically, they were flying on broomsticks.

Still more specifically, they were practicing Quidditch.

They had an important game against the Slytherins the next day, so they were practicing hard.

Their practice ended.

They went back to the Gryffindor common room and talked with the other Marauders.

They learned something interesting.

The normal commentator was in the Hospital Wing, he had eaten a pound of doxy eggs for a bet.

The replacement commentator was Remus Lupin.

Remus Lupin, who only knew about Quidditch because of his books.

Remus Lupin, who generally referred to the Quaffle as the "bright red soccer ball," the Bludgers as "those small black pain-balls," and the Snitch as the "gold golf ball."

Remus Lupin, who called Beaters "clubmen," Chasers "passers," Keepers "goalies," and Seekers "catchers."

Remus Lupin, who only knew one of the many hundreds of ways to commit a foul in Quidditch.

Remus Lupin, who...well, the point is, Remus just didn't understand Quidditch.

James and Sirius spent the next three hours finding Remus Quidditch books and testing him on the names of the balls and the players.

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The next day, there were ideal weather conditions. It was a clear, sunny, and slightly breezy day, and James and Sirius were very excited.

The Marauders walked into the Great Hall and had some breakfast.

James saw Lily, decked out in red and gold with support for his (no, their) team, and felt an instant rush of affection for her.

Sirius whacked him upside the head, telling him to "get his head in the game."

James blinked. "What?"

"Focus, or we won't win today."

But James assured Sirius that they would win.

He would make sure that they won.

He would win for Lily.

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Fifteen brooms rose into the air and hundreds of people began cheering at the sound of a whistle.

James quickly took the Quaffle.

Remus pointed this out.

James dodged three Slytherin chasers and a Bludger.

Remus pointed this out.

James came face-to-face with the Slytherin Keeper, and appeared to be aiming for the left goal hoop.

Remus pointed this out.

James shot right and scored.

Remus pointed this out.

James smiled at Lily.

Remus pointed this out.

James glared at Remus, who smiled back. Remus was a very good commentator.

James took the Quaffle again soon, and streaked back up the pitch, swerving in and out, avoiding two Slytherin chasers, a Bludger, the third Slytherin chaser, nearly crashing into the Slytherin Seeker, and then being hit by the second Bludger.

James dropped the Quaffle, which was fortunately retrieved by a fellow chaser.

Sirius saw James get hit by the Bludger, and retaliated by hitting the Bludgers at each of the Slytherin chasers, effectively knocking the wind out of them four times each.

Meanwhile, James had seized the Quaffle and scored six more times in a row.

As James and another chaser flew up the pitch together at the goal posts, passing to one another, the Slytherin Seeker spotted the Snitch.

Sirius hit both of the Bludgers at the opposing team's Seeker.

One of them found its mark.

The Snitch was lost again.

Meanwhile, a Gryffindor chaser had thrown the Quaffle at the middle hoop.

Unfortunately, the Keeper was expecting that.

Fortunately, James flew in and punched the Quaffle into the hoop on the right side.

The score was now 80-0 Gryffindor.

Fifteen minutes later, Gryffindor was leading by 130, and James was showing off.

He was head-butting the Quaffle into the goal, surfing on his broom, riding on Sirius' broom, and doing victory laps every time he scored.

During one such victory lap, he heard Remus' voice.

"Good hit by Black there...actually, I have to say that, or else he'll be beating _me_ later...."

Sirius glared at Remus.

James laughed out loud, along with most of the other hundreds of students.

James got an idea.

He flew over to Remus and whispered something in his ear.

Remus smiled and nodded.

James was delighted.

He grabbed the Quaffle and scored four more times.

On the fourth time, he stood up and punted the Quaffle into the center goal hoop, to the loud applause of most of the people in the stands.

James made a discreet signal to Remus.

Remus then announced that James Potter was dedicating that game and his 16 goals to Miss Lily Evans.

Lily's face turned red with embarrassment.

Then it turned red with anger.

It was almost as red as her hair.

She left the pitch.

James was sad, and stopped scoring.

The Slytherin Seeker, Regulus Black, caught the Snitch.

Remus announced the final score as 170-150, a Gryffindor victory.

He was made the regular commentator from then on.

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There was a crazy party in the Gryffindor common room that lasted until 3:27 the next morning.

Everyone had a blast, including James, even though Lily didn't talk to him at all that night.

There was lots of food and butterbeer and games and laughing and random fun stuff.

Slowly, everyone went off to bed till only James, Sirius, and a few people who were totally wasted or just asleep were left in the common room.

Sirius bade James good night, and went up to bed.

James looked around at the mess, smiling tiredly, until something caught his eye.

Lily was huddled up in an armchair in the corner, fast asleep.

She didn't look too comfortable.

James attempted to conjure up a blanket.

Instead he made a coat and a hat.

Sighing, he Transfigured the coat and hat into a blanket and pillow, emerald green with lilies all over them.

He set the pillow behind Lily's head and covered her with the blanket.

James smiled at the image before him, then whispered, "Good night, Lily."

He began to walk away, but turned back momentarily and added, "I love you."

James went to bed feeling very happy, and had a very nice rest.

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Not a single Gryffindor rose before noon the next day.

Sirius was somehow the first awake, up at 12:04 p.m.

He saw Lily in the common room, and also saw what James had done.

Grinning, he dashed from the room and came back with about 10 bottles of Firewhiskey.

He emptied them into the sink in his dorm and scattered the empty bottles around Lily.

She woke up very confused, indeed.

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So, that was that.

Did you like it? Review please! The more reviews I get, the better my story will be (at least, I think that's how it's supposed to work). Plus, I will probably update sooner if I get lots of reviews!

By the way, I added a poll to my profile, please check it out and vote!

Also, I want to know how many chapters you guys want, I have like five ideas left, I was thinking just write 10-12 chapters (2 for wrap-up/conclusion), please say so in reviews.

Hope you enjoyed that chapter, thanks for reading my story, vote on the poll, don't forget to review, and see you all next time!


	6. Breathing Room and Thinking Time

**The Little Things**

Hey there!

First I would like to thank Sam and Talking-Rock, you guys have been great, you've reviewed every chapter and inspired me to write another today.

You seemed to have a lot of fun with Sirius making Lily think she was drunk, and I plan on actually getting her drunk in a later chapter, so look out for that!

And now, without further ado, the sixth installment of The Little Things!

**Disclaimer: kxjfubrjdhrb. I own nothing, except perhaps the keyboard I just face-planted into a couple times.**

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Breathing Room and Thinking Time

Fifth Year

Lily sat alone, in a deserted corner of the castle.

No one knew where she was.

Not even Lily.

She had come here alone, sad and angry because of Severus' betrayal, not knowing where she was headed, just trying to find some breathing room and a place where she could think.

So she found an abandoned classroom, and sat there alone, thinking about what happened.

She thought she heard a noise and turned around quickly.

James Potter had found her.

James asked Lily if she was okay.

Lily asked James if she looked okay to him.

James said she looked beautiful, but depressed.

Lily rolled her eyes and told James that now wasn't the time.

"Don't worry, Lily, I'm not here to hit on you."

Lily was shocked. He'd used her first name. Even stranger, it sounded so good, so _right_, coming from him.

Then she actually thought about what he'd said. She didn't believe him.

James sat down next to her.

Minutes passed.

Finally, James spoke.

"I'm sorry."

Lily was shocked. James Potter, apologizing? And even stranger, apologizing for something he hadn't done.

"I'm sorry for what he did. Mary and Alice told me that he used to be your best friend."

Throat much too tight to speak, Lily just nodded.

"I'm sorry for provoking him. I'm sorry that he called you a-a-a...a you-know-what."

Lily looked into his eyes. He couldn't be lying. James Potter was apologizing to her in earnest.

"It was bound to happen someday. It was only a matter of time before it slipped out," she replied.

"I'm really sorry. I understand how important friends are. Trust me, I know about friends."

"Thank you, James. It's okay, really. I'm okay."

"Are you sure? Because we've been talking for a good five minutes and you haven't threatened, insulted, or attacked me yet."

"James, I'm okay. Thank you for being here, though. It helped."

She didn't know why it helped, but that was the truth. For some reason, she felt safe, relaxed, comfortable around James. Being there with him, just talking softly and peacefully, no anger or pain, it just felt so right.

"Hey, I try. Look, you'll get over it someday. I know it was a terrible betrayal, but you will. Everything will be alright."

Lily believed him. She didn't know why she did, but she believed him.

"Thank you, James. What you said really helped."

James smiled, not an arrogant smirk or a lopsided grin, a true, beautiful smile.

"Is there anything else I can do?"

Lily shook her head.

"Just give me some breathing room and thinking time. Okay, James?"

"All right, Lily."

James got up and left, and for some reason, there was a spring in his step and a smile on his face.

Maybe it was because he had gotten to have a real conversation with Lily.

Maybe it was because she'd called him "James" and not "Potter."

Or maybe, just maybe, it was because he knew he'd done what was right.

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Well, there you go.

A bit of a turning point in the story, if you ask me (and I should know, I'm the author).

Actually, I really don't know about that.

Anyway, please remember to review!

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to review, and see you next time!


	7. Anything For You

**The Little Things**

If you have stuck with my story this far, thank you. Also a special thank you again to Talking-Rock and Sam, you are great, you are the reason I keep updating.

For this next chapter, Lily and James are friends because of his actions in the last chapter. If I have time and I can actually think about my story I might even add the "Drunken Lily" chapter tonight, although probably not.

Anyway, here's chapter seven, please don't forget to review!

**Disclaimer: pkml;kpl;kulukmhp. I own nothing, except perhaps the keyboard I just face-planted into a couple times.**

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Anything For You

Sixth Year

Lily burst into the Gryffindor common room, currently unoccupied save James, Remus, and Peter.

Lily asked James for help.

James consented immediately.

Lily told James that Sirius was messing with the Giant Squid, and James needed to make Sirius stop.

James pointed out Lily's prefect badge, asking why she needed his help.

Lily pointed out the fact that he was James Potter, and thus the only one Sirius would listen to.

James gave in.

The two of them rushed down the many staircases.

Upon reaching the front doors, they both slowed down.

James and Lily began their walk towards the lake.

James thought about how nice it was to be on speaking terms, even friends with Lily. He was enjoying their little walk.

Lily would never have let anyone know this, but she was thinking the same things about James, and also enjoying the walk.

They reached the lake.

Lily yelled at Sirius.

Sirius shrugged.

James calmly and rationally asked Sirius to stop.

Sirius looked from James to Lily.

And then from Lily to James.

And back to Lily.

Finally, he looked at James one more time, and sighed and consented.

He walked away towards the castle.

As soon as he was out of sight, Lily thanked James.

James said, "No problem, Lily. Anything for you."

To his great surprise, Lily was not annoyed at this comment.

Instead she blushed, smiled a little, and looked down at her feet.

Then they began walking back to the castle.

All of a sudden, it got really cold, and James had the spooky feeling that they were being watched.

Lily shivered. In her haste to reprimand Sirius, she had forgotten to bring a coat or a robe.

James noticed this, and offered his sweatshirt to her.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. Remember, Lily, anything for you?"

She blushed again and accepted the sweatshirt.

Lily felt so comfortable and warm and good in James' sweatshirt.

This shocked her, but she ignored that feeling of shock in favor of the feelings of comfiness, warmth, and goodness she found in wearing James' sweatshirt.

James felt so happy he was able to just ignore the cold and shake off that nasty feeling of being watched.

-----

A couple weeks later, after Gryffindor won the Quidditch cup for the fifth year running, there was a huge Gryffindor party.

Lily fell asleep in an armchair again.

James got her a blanket and pillow again, and even Transfigured the armchair into a bed for her.

Lily awoke the next morning feeling sick.

Lily had trouble getting up, due to a burning fever, a splitting headache, and also terrible stomach pains and leg cramps.

She got to a bathroom as fast as she could and threw up.

She got back in bed as James came down the stairs.

James saw how sick she looked, and Transfigured an empty butterbeer bottle into a pail for Lily to throw up in.

Lily threw up in the bucket.

Six times.

James held her hair back while she did.

He then magically emptied the bucket.

James told Lily she should go to the hospital wing.

Lily agreed, but she stated she couldn't get there on her own.

James told her to hold onto the bucket, in case she needed to throw up on the way to the hospital wing.

Lily asked how she would get there.

James handed her the bucket, picked her up, and sped out the portrait hole.

They reached the hospital wing.

Lily had thrown up only twice along the way, although, during the second time, she threw up a bit on James. She apologized, but he said it was all right.

James showed the nurse Lily, and she immediately got a bed and began fussing over the red-head.

Before James left for lunch, Lily thanked him for everything he had done while she was sick.

"Anything for you, Lily. Anything for you."

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So, what d'you think?

Please review this chapter, and I am actually removing my poll, because I think I know how I want this to end now.

Once again, thanks for reading, hope you're enjoying this, don't forget to review, and see you all next time!


	8. Drunk

**The Little Things**

Hey!

I'm really only updating right now because I wanted to write about Lily getting drunk.

Thanks again to all those who reviewed, and especially to Sam and Talking-Rock!

I don't know how good this will end up being, because I really don't know how to write a drunk Lily....

Oh, well, here goes nothing!

**Disclaimer: dferxsvdfzdfasxw. I own nothing, except perhaps the keyboard I just face-planted into a couple times.**

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Drunk

Sixth Year

Alice and Mary wanted Lily to go to Hogsmeade with them.

Lily wanted to study for exams.

Alice and Mary threatened to destroy Lily's study guide.

Lily gave in.

The three girls went to Hogsmeade.

They went to the shops they normally went to, but Lily wasn't having as much fun as normal. She still wanted to be studying.

Finally, the three girls went to the Three Broomsticks.

It seemed like _everyone_ was there, including James and the Marauders.

Mary went to go order the drinks.

Mary returned with three butterbeers and set them down in front of the girls.

"Cheers," she said, and the three of them raised their glasses and drank deeply.

Lily coughed. Her drink tasted strange. It didn't taste like normal butterbeer.

Lily told the others about this.

Mary quickly explained that this was a new flavor of butterbeer that the Three Broomsticks was testing.

Lily shrugged and accepted this explanation. She liked this new flavor.

Lily drained her glass quickly, and said she'd go up for more.

Mary quickly stepped in, saying she'd do it, and Lily wouldn't even have to pay, it was on her.

Lily drank six more butterbeers.

Then she began acting weird.

Lily struck up conversations with random people she had never met before.

Lily sang mainstream Muggle songs. Badly.

Lily danced around and tripped a lot, acting very clumsy.

Lily got really loud. But loud in a friendly way, not loud like when she used to yell at and curse James.

Lily began doing random magic, changing people's hair colors, burning off their eyebrows, levitating chairs, and other such weird things.

Alice and Mary took Lily's wand away.

"But I waaaaant it!" Lily whined.

"No, Lily, you we'll let you have your wand back when the Sobriety Fairy visits you, okay?" Mary cooed.

"Sobriety Fairy? What?" Alice asked.

Mary took Alice out of Lily's earshot (not that it mattered, Lily had begun attempting to touch her nose with her tongue, ignoring everything else).

"I kinda, sorta had them spike Lily's drinks."

"You WHAT?"

"She was being so uptight about the tests, I just thought she should loosen up a bit!"

"No wonder her drinks tasted weird! And no wonder you kept buying them, not letting her do it!"

Mary stared at her feet sheepishly.

"Look what you've done to her!"

Lily had given up trying to touch her tongue to her nose, and was instead running around the place, feeling people's hair.

Her friends tried to stop her before she got to James, but it was too late.

"Hiiiiii Paames Jotter!"

"Um, hello, Lily," James said, confused.

"Can I feel your hair?"

"What?"

Lily ran her fingers through James' hair anyway.

"Oooh, you have niiice hair, no wonder you put your hand in it so often."

"What's wrong with her?" James asked Alice and Mary, who had just arrived.

"Mary got her drunk."

"You WHAT?!?"

"Just spiked her butterbeer a little bit."

Lily was now trying to lick her elbow. When she realized that this could not be done, she settled with licking James' elbow instead.

"A little bit? Really?"

"Well, yeah, it's not my fault she liked it enough to have seven drinks."

"SEVEN?!? You should have stopped her!"

Lily grew bored of licking James' elbow, and looked at his face. She liked his face.

"Heeeeey, you're really cute," Lily said to James, flirtatiously.

James looked at her in obvious delight, then remembered her inebriated state, and took control of the situation.

"Look, Lily, we need to get you back to the school."

"School?"

"Yes, Lils, school. It's this way, come on, now." James led Lily out of the Three Broomsticks and back towards Hogwarts.

"Schoool.... Are you a professor? You look like one."

"I look like a professor to you?"

"Yeah, with the glasses. Oooh, you have pretty eyes behind those glasses."

"Thank you. I mean, c'mon, let's go, we have to get up to the school."

"So are you a professor?"

"Umm...yeah. Yes, Miss Evans, I am."

"Really? What do you teach?"

"Er...Transfiguration."

"Oh. I'm not that good at Transfiguration, Professor Jotter. Sorry."

"Well, that's okay, I might just have to fail you."

"Aww...but professor, I'd do _anything_ for an O," Lily said seductively, and winked.

James blinked and stopped walking. Lily, who had been using James as a support, kept walking, and, thus, fell over. He hastened to help her up.

James thought about what she had just said. He thought about his options here...then he realized that he had to do the right thing, because taking advantage of Lily in her drunken state was _oh so very wrong_.

"Now, now, Miss Evans, we can discuss your grade later. Now let's get back to the school, shall we?"

Lily nodded and smiled enthusiastically.

James, after much time and struggling, finally got Lily back to school. Since he couldn't go to the girls dorms to take care of Lily, he tucked her into his own bed, and conjured up a sleeping bag for himself, so he could lie next to Lily and help her if she needed anything.

-----

The next morning, Lily woke up with a terrible hangover.

And in James Potter's bed.

She groaned and clutched her forehead.

James took care of her until she was well enough to leave and yell at her "friends."

Lily thanked James for everything he had done for her in her drunken and hung-over state.

Of course, "thanked James" is a euphemism for "gave James a kiss."

James had never been happier.

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Well, there's drunken Lily. I sure hope I did her justice there.

That chapter was actually really fun to write, but the ending seemed a little weird to me. Oh well.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter, thanks for reading, don't forget to review, and I'll see you all the next time I update, hopefully tomorrow.


	9. The Look

**The Little Things**

Hey guys!

Sorry I couldn't update sooner, but play callbacks + Honors hw = late updates.

Anyway, this is the beginning of the end. Enjoy!

Once again, thank you for all the reviews, Talking-Rock, Sam, and LilyAndJamesAreForever (I totally agree by the way).

Here you go!

**Disclaimer: pojkulkmojlikhu. I own nothing, except perhaps the keyboard I just face-planted into a couple times.**

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The Look

Seventh Year

The Gryffindor common room was mostly empty.

That is to say, it was occupied by the Marauders and about five other people.

Sirius and Peter were playing chess, Remus was reading, and James was watching the chess game.

Needless to say, the Marauders were very bored.

Well, James, Sirius, and Peter were, anyway.

James kept on nodding off while watching the chess game, and Peter had to keep poking him to stop him from falling fast asleep.

Then Lily entered the common room.

James perked up immediately, watching her.

Sirius took one glance at James, followed his gaze, looked back at James, and laughed.

"Check it out, Moony, he's got the Look again."

"What look?" Peter was interested.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me, Wormtail. How on earth can you have known this boy for seven years and not yet noticed the Look?"

"Sirius has a point, you know," interjected Remus.

"The Look is just the way James gazes at Lily that proves how much he loves her," Sirius explained patiently.

"Yes, his eyes light and face just sort of light up, he completely ignores everything else, and he's got a soft, gentle, and slightly stupid smile plastered on his face," Remus rejoined.

"What are you guys talking about?" James said, as Lily left the room.

"Prongs, just ask the girl out already."

James refused.

Sirius asked why.

James explained that he liked being Lily's friend, and not getting rejected every hour, on the hour.

Remus pointed out that he only had a few more months till everyone left Hogwarts, and he might never see Lily again after that.

James considered.

James gave in.

-----

The next day, James asked Lily out.

Lily rejected him.

That would not have been so bad, but for the other thing Lily did.

Lily told him that they could never be together. It just wouldn't work, she claimed.

James' heart broke.

Sirius picked up the pieces.

All 491 of them.

-----

James was crestfallen.

He had never, ever, been that sad.

Peter attempted to cheer him up.

Peter failed.

Remus attempted to cheer him up.

Remus failed.

Sirius attempted to cheer him up.

Sirius failed.

So, instead of trying to cheer James up, Sirius tried to help James get over Lily.

He suggested going out with someone else.

"What's the point? If I can't have Lily, why would I want anyone else?"

"This'll help you get over her, Prongs!"

"No it won't. It's hopeless. I'm hopeless. I'm going to die alone."

"C'mon, Prongs, it doesn't even have to be that serious, just maybe a few snogs."

"No, Padfoot."

"James. Listen to me. This is unhealthy. You need to get out there and live, don't get hung up on that red-head."

"No, Sirius."

"C'mon, James, it'll do you good!"

"Sirius, just LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Lily might get jealous."

James perked up. "Really?"

"Yep," replied Sirius, with a smug smirk on his face. "And she can't get angry 'cuz you asked her first anyway."

"Padfoot, you're a genius."

"I know."

-----

The next day, Lily didn't see James at all until later in the evening.

Lily walked into Gryffindor common room.

Lily saw James.

Then Lily saw the girl in James' lap.

They were sitting in an armchair by the fire, and Sirius was sitting in an adjacent armchair, and the three of them were talking and laughing.

Lily's heart sank.

She felt tears coming to her eyes and tried to hold them back.

Through her blurred vision she could still see him perfectly.

Lily saw him, gazing affectionately at the Unknown in his lap, her Replacement.

His eyes were bright and dancing, his face was lit up, and his mouth curved into a soft, gentle, goofy smile.

James was giving Lily's Replacement the Look.

He_ was giving _her_ the Look._

James Potter had the nerve to give the Look reserved specially for Lily to another girl.

And then the tears really came.

First, one slid down her left cheek.

Then, another rolled down the right one as well.

And she took off, and as she ran, water gushed down her face, falling faster than the rain outside.

-----

Lily sat on the couch in the Heads' common room, eating chocolate ice cream and crying her eyes out.

James walked in.

Lily exploded.

Lily exploded with the force of ten nuclear bombs, with anger and grief.

"How could you?" she screamed.

"How could I what?" James asked, calmly.

"How could you get a girlfriend?"

"It was rather easy actually...."

"But why? Why did you get one?"

"Simply because I wanted one. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Of course there is! You gave _her_ the Look!"

"The what?"

"The Look! You know, where your eyes and face light up with glee, and you wear this weird, soft, gentle, goofy smile and just gaze at me! Except you were gazing at _her_ this time, not at me! How could you? How could you give her the Look? My Look?"

"I honestly don't understand you, Lily. You reject me every day, then you tell me that we can never be together, and when I move on, you get jealous."

"I am _not_ jealous!"

"Whatever. Look, I'm going to bed."

"What? But this conversation isn't over yet!"

"Yes, it is."

"But you never answered my questions! Why? Why did you get a girlfriend? Why did you give her the Look?"

"Lily, you didn't honestly expect me to wait forever, did you?"

"I-"

"You told me we'd never be together, so I just gave up on you and moved on. I thought you'd be okay with that."

"Of course not!"

"Well, why not? You don't like me enough to go out with me, or to even consider _ever_ going out with me, yet you get insanely pissed off when you see me with another girl."

"James, I do lik-"

"Look, Lily, I'm done with this nonsense. I'll see you around."

James went to bed, leaving Lily with lots of breathing room and lots of thinking time.

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So? What did you think?

By the way, next chapter will probably be a sequel to this one, and also probably be the last story chapter, followed by perhaps an epilogue about everyone's life after Hogwarts, and then a conclusion chapter.

Please don't forget to review, thank you for reading, hope you enjoyed this one, and I'll see you next time!


	10. The End

**The Little Things**

Hey guys!

YES!! I can finally upload my freaking files! Alrighty, then, here's the end of it!

Once again, thanks for the reviews, SamsSmiles247, lily-james-forevs, mattibff, LOLhaily, tasha27, and of course Sam-EvansBlue, Talking-Rock, and LilyAndJamesAreForever (never-ending nights with you, I insist on still calling you this).

**Disclaimer: kdurkjkdjlnhbjf. I own nothing, except perhaps the keyboard I just face-planted into a couple times.**

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The End

Seventh Year

_And in the end_

_The love you take_

_Is equal to_

_The love you make_

_The End, by the Beatles_

Lily didn't talk to James for weeks.

They didn't see each other at all other than in classes, at mealtimes, and for Head duties.

Lily didn't know it, but James felt terrible.

After two weeks, James dumped the Unknown.

Lily was significantly happier and nicer to James after this occurrence.

She had hoped he wouldn't notice this change.

James noticed.

-----

Lily and James were on patrol one night.

They had been talking and laughing together, like friends, and they thought that maybe they finally got over that one fight in the Heads' common room.

Then Lily decided to talk to James about it.

"James, look, I'm really, really sorry about that one fight we had a few weeks ago in the common room."

"Lily, it's okay. Just forget about it."

"No, it's not okay. I overreacted. I really don't know what got into me."

They both knew that last statement was a lie.

"Lily, it's all right. If you're really apologizing, then I forgive you. Let's just forget about it."

But Lily shook her head stubbornly. She had to talk to him about it, there were some things she just had to say.

"James, remember back in fifth year, how we had a civilized conversation and I told you to give me some breathing room and thinking time?"

He nodded. "How could I forget? That was the first time you called me 'James,' remember?"

"Well, you've given me a lot of breathing room and a lot of thinking time over these past couple years, especially these last couple weeks."

"Great. So, what have you been thinking about?"

Lily took a deep breath. "You."

"Is that so? And what have you decided?"

Lily looked up into his face, but it was unclear how he felt. He remained impassive, and betrayed no emotion at all, not in his face or his voice.

"I've had a lot of time to think about you, James."

"Yes, I've gathered that." He looked amused.

"And I think...that, maybe, you might actually love me."

James stopped walking and faced Lily. She stopped and turned as well.

"Well done, Miss Evans, ten points for Gryffindor. That only took you around...five and a half years to figure out?"

"James, I'm trying to be serious here."

"Please don't. Sirius is great and all, but I'd rather you be Lily."

"James, really, I think you actually do love me."

"I agree."

"And what's more...I think...that, maybe, just maybe...I might love you, too."

Lily expected him to celebrate. Or, at the very least, respond to this announcement.

She did not expect him to just keep staring at her.

"James? Are you alright? Hello? James?"

"Lily, I'm fine."

"Well, I just told you I might love you, shouldn't you be celebrating?"

"Well, you said _might_. That means you might not."

"Yes, but I probably do."

"But I want to be absolutely sure before I celebrate."

"Why must you be so complicated?"

"I have to make sure."

"Fine. James Potter, I...I love you."

James smiled, the widest smile Lily had ever seen on his face, or anyone's face, for that matter.

Then he laughed, and grabbed Lily and tossed her into the air and caught her.

"FINALLY! I have worked so long and so hard just to hear you say three little words. Finally, I get my reward."

Lily frowned at him. "Oh, so I'm just a reward, now, am I?"

James laughed again, a pleasant, melodious laugh.

"C'mon, you knew what I meant."

Lily smiled. "Yes. Yes, I did."

James grinned down at the girl he had loved for half a decade.

The little red-head was just smiling back up at him, looking very happy and comfortable in his arms.

And then, James Potter leaned forward, closed his eyes, and kissed Lily Evans.

Needless to say, the two lived with each other happily, until the day they died.

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Hmm. That was all right, I guess.

If you all hate it, I'll just scrap it and re-write it.

Please remember to review, thanks for reading, I really hope you enjoyed my story, and that is probably the last actual story chapter!

I think I'll write this story again with a bigger role for Sirius. Tell me if you think that's a good idea.

Well, until next time!


	11. Aftermath

**The Little Things**

Hey!

This is just a short wrap-up of the characters' lives after that first kiss.

**Disclaimer: qweadzscsrfswx. I own nothing, except perhaps the keyboard I just face-planted into a couple times.**

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Aftermath

**Lily and James Potter**

Lily and James went steady after that first kiss.

They loved each other very much, and are arguably the strongest couple the Wizarding World has ever seen.

They both graduated with honors, and after Hogwarts moved into a flat together.

After a little while, James asked Lily to marry him.

Lily said no (**just kidding**).

Lily said yes, and the couple was overjoyed.

James married Lily with Sirius as his best man.

Later, Lily gave birth to a little baby boy, the spitting image of James, but for his eyes. Little Harry got his mother's eyes.

Lily and James spent the rest of their lives after Hogwarts fighting Voldemort and protecting innocent people, including their son.

They died one dreadful Hallowe'en night.

Merlin bless their souls.

**Sirius Black**

Sirius remained James' best friend until the day James died.

He was the best man at the Potters' wedding.

He was made the godfather of Harry Potter, but Harry was sent to his aunt and uncle after Lily and James were killed.

Sirius graduated from Hogwarts with honors, as well, and found himself a flying motorbike.

Sirius was thrown into Azkaban for a murder he did not commit, shortly after the death of Lily and James.

Always a skilled combatant, Sirius spent his life (while he was not in Azkaban) fighting the Dark forces.

Sirius died in the Ministry of Magic, at the hands of his cousin Bellatrix, disappearing behind a veil, never to return.

He rejoined Lily and James in Heaven, and was glad to see them, and they were glad to see him.

**Remus Lupin**

Remus, being the smartest Marauder, graduated from Hogwarts at the top of the class.

He and James remained very good friends, as did he and Sirius, until James' death.

Remus believed that Sirius was, in fact, Voldemort's spy, until he and Sirius found the real spy, twelve years after the death of Lily and James Potter.

Remus worked hard with the Order of the Phoenix during both the First and Second Wars.

He married Nymphadora Tonks, and they had a son named Teddy Lupin. Seventeen-year-old Harry Potter was named godfather.

Both Remus and his wife died at the Battle of Hogwarts, fighting for the sake of innocent lives.

Lily, James, and Sirius were all very happy to see him again.

**Severus Snape**

Read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it has all the answers.

**Peter Pettigrew**

Peter was a coward.

He betrayed Lily, James, and Harry, to save his own skin.

That rat was the true spy, the reason Harry was an orphan.

He framed Sirius and lived as a pet rat with the Weasleys.

Peter died sixteen years after he betrayed James and Lily, at his own hands, or, rather, the hand that Voldemort created for him.

He is not with his old friends.

He does not deserve pity, nor forgiveness.

* * *

Well, yeah, that's about it.

If there's anyone I forgot, tell me in reviews.

I didn't really like how I ended Peter's. I may change that later.

Oh, well, don't forget to review!


	12. Conclusion

**The Little Things**

**Disclaimer: rufjckrbinfhvj. I own nothing, except perhaps the keyboard I just face-planted into a couple times.**

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Conclusion

James Potter always cared for Lily Evans.

In between all the public displays of affection, he really did try to help her.

When Lily needed directions, James was there to give them.

When Lily needed just a little help in class, James was there with a helping hand.

When Lily tripped and fell, James was there to catch her.

When Lily had a problem with what he did, James adapted to satisfy her.

When Lily wasn't comfortable, James made her a pillow and blanket.

When Lily was betrayed, James offered a shoulder to cry on, and when she needed to be alone, James left.

When Lily needed reinforcement, James was there to back her up.

When Lily was cold, James gave her his coat.

When Lily was sick, James took care of her, and brought her to the hospital wing, ignoring the fact that she puked on him.

When Lily was drunk, James put her to bed and nursed her during her hangover, instead of taking advantage of her.

When Lily didn't know how she felt, James gave her a push in the right direction.

When Lily finally came around, James was there, waiting for her.

When Lily needed a kiss, James was there to give it.

James really did love Lily.

After all, it's the little things that mean the most.


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